Archbishop
Saint Martyr Alexius (in the world Peter Filippovich Belkovsky) was born in 1842 in the village of Rozhdestvino, Tula province, in the family of a priest, Philip Belkovsky. His father, priest Philip, served for more than forty years in one place and raised his son in the spirit of modesty and temperance. Peter graduated from the Tula Theological Seminary in 1864 and was ordained a priest in 1867, serving in various churches, including the Mikhailovskaya Church and the Alexander Nevsky Church in Tula.
Priest Peter actively engaged in education, organizing a parish school and caring for children, especially during the famine of 1891. For his labors, he was awarded a pectoral cross and other honors. In 1898, he was appointed the abbot of the Starorus Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, and later elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
In 1904, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Velikoustyug and actively engaged in spiritual enlightenment, building churches and opening libraries. In 1916, he became the Bishop of Velikoustyug and Ustyug, and in the early 1920s, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
Archbishop Alexius was retired in 1924 but continued to serve in churches until his arrest in 1937, when he was 95 years old. He was arrested and died in prison in November 1937, and his remains were later found and transferred to the Stefanovskoye Cemetery.
